The Better Half
by Ms. Videl Son
Summary: TwoShot. “So you’re Saiyaman, huh?” GhVi, Pre-Blackmail.
1. One

**Title:** The Better Half**  
Disclaimer:** Muahahahaha...you're gettin' NOTHING out of me.**  
Rating:** PG-13 ( T ) – 'cuz of all the teenagers in it, duh. That and a touch of cursing and energetic kissing here or there.**  
Spoilers: **Well, you could spoil your appetite if you eat too much candy, but I think the story's safe.

**Summary:** TwoShot. "So you're Saiyaman, huh?" GhVi, Pre-Blackmail.

Happy Halloween, everybody!** n.n**

(PS: This is for SweetestIrony. Theme – Cosplay.)

--- --- ---

**One**

"_In the dark shadow of the grove, on the margin of the brook, he beheld something huge, misshapen, black and towering. It stirred not, but seemed gathered up in the gloom, like some gigantic monster ready to spring upon the traveler._

_The hair of the affrighted pedagogue rose upon his head with terror. What was to be done? To turn and fly was now too late; and besides, what chance was there of escaping ghost or goblin, if such it was, which could ride upon the wings of the wind? Summoning up, therefore, a show of courage, [Ichabod] demanded in stammering accents – "Who are you?" He received no reply. He repeated his demand in a still more agitated voice. Still there was no answer. Once more he cudgeled the sides of the inflexible Gunpowder, and, shutting his eyes, broke forth with involuntary fervor into a psalm tune. Just then – "_

"What'cha reading, Gohan-kun?"

"WAH!" the demi-Saiyan bookworm cried as the devoted attention he had been bestowing upon his novella was suddenly and unceremoniously broken. Throwing his hands up simultaneously, the book went flying out of his hands and landed somewhere across the room out of sight. The accompanying scream and curse implied that it had hit someone during its descent.

"Omigod! I'm _so_ sorry, Gohan-kun! I didn't mean to scare you!" Erasa, his right-hand neighbor and potential ninja in the making, apologized. "Are you alright?"

Excepting the necessity of retrieving his book before the first bell rang, Gohan figured he was mostly okay. Sure, she'd given him a start right in the middle of his extra credit assignment, but his pulse was nearly back to normal already. "I'm fine, Erasa-san."

"Are you sure?" she asked as she maneuvered around him, winding her way toward her assigned seat.

Scooching his chair forward a little to make her path wider, Gohan answered, "Yeah, I'm sure. You just startled me, is all."

"I didn't mean to...," the popular blonde girl said as she sat down, depositing her light tote bag under her chair and out of her way.

Gohan smiled at her sincerely before assuring her, "I know, it's fine."

"Okay...," Erasa said, finally letting the subject fade away. To replace it, she began a new topic; "So, you're coming to my Hooplah, right?"

Gohan thought about it for a second, but couldn't think of how she could have possibly drawn that conclusion. This was the first he'd heard of any "hooplah." "Your what?"

"My All Hallows Eve Hookup Hooplah!" she replied with gusto, turning in her seat so that she was facing him fully. Her excitement clearly bubbling just beneath the surface of her skin, she continued, "It's my annual Halloween party. I've had it every year since I was eleven. So, you in?"

"Uhh...," Gohan trailed off, tentative about giving his friend a definite answer without asking his mother first. Who knew if ChiChi would approve of a "hooplah" full of teenagers? "I dunno. When is it?"

"Halloween, duh," Erasa said, giggling openly at his expense.

"Oh...I might have to take my brother trick-or-treating that night, I'm not sure," Gohan told her, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. He could probably learn to live without going to the party, but it bothered him whenever he couldn't give someone – particularly one of the few peers that didn't treat him like a weirdo – a straight answer.

Just as if he'd said no, Erasa's expression fell from the heights of delight to the dark abyss of disappointment. "But you just _have_ to come!" she insisted, leaning forward with her hands clasped together. "_Please_? If you don't, I won't have enough boys to go around!"

Yet again, Gohan found himself confused. He seemed to be missing quite a bit of context about this little soiree. "What do you mean?"

"It's a _hookup _party, Gohan-kun. All the guys and girls get paired off together randomly, kinda like one huge blind date. It's the most fun ever and, without you, one of the girls I've invited won't have a partner!" she explained, moisture beginning to gather at the corners of her eyes. "Won't you_ please_ come?"

Gohan was no more immune to the weepy appeals of women than any other man, so he felt compelled to say, "I'll...I'll ask my mom, okay? Maybe she can, I dunno...send my brother over to his friends house this year, or something."

Almost as if they had never been there in the first place, the tears in Erasa's eyes were suddenly gone and her mood was back to its original cheery intensity. "Yay! You're the _best_, Gohan-kun!"

Unless, of course, his mother said no. Gohan rather wondered what he'd be classified as if that happened...

While Gohan absently pondered the potential drop in his already low social standing if his mommy were to refuse her consent, Erasa was busying herself with something in her bag. When she sat back up, she had two small drawstring bags in her hands. Placing the red one on the desk in front of her, she turned back to Gohan with the green still in her possession and said, "Okay, pick one."

"Pick one what?" Gohan had to ask, his head beginning to throb with all the things he felt he should be understanding, but wasn't.

Pulling open the mouth of the velvet sack, Erasa held it out to him with the implied instruction that he should put his hand inside. "Your costume."

"We're getting assigned costumes?"

"Yep," Erasa replied quickly, shaking the sack on her extended palm with impatience. "I told you already, it's a hookup party. The way we figure out who is paired up is by drawing costumes and seeing whose costume belongs with whose. The boys get to pick from one bag, the girls from the other, and they get to see who their 'other half' for the night is when they get there."

Gohan thought he was following, but there still seemed to be a piece missing. "How does that work?"

Erasa paused in brandishing the green bag at him momentarily as she answered, "Oh, all the costumes are one half of a full theme. Like, famous pairings and stuff that's just supposed to go together, y'know?"

"Yeah? Like what?"

"Uhh...well, like Romeo and Juliet or peanut butter and jelly. When you get to the party, you just have to figure out who's your other half," the blonde elaborated, thrusting the pouch at him again. "So pick one already!"

Finally out of questions for his peroxide-frazzled classmate, Gohan did as he was bidden and dipped his hand into the proffered sack. He felt around a little bit before settling on one particular scrap of paper and pulled it out.

Careful not to snag one of the ragged edges and tear it, Gohan unfolded the paper to read it. It said –

"So you're Saiyaman, huh?"

When Erasa had startled him, his heart had sped up several paces. When this new, chillingly familiar voice interjected itself upon his thoughts, however, it stopped completely.

"Videl-chan!" Erasa scolded, her perfectly plucked eyebrows drawing together in displeasure. "You're not supposed to know who he is! That totally ruins the surprise!"

"Sorry," the voice – now revealed as Saiyaman's most devoted and clever adversary – apologized, sounding none too sincere about it. "But he had his paper open. I couldn't resist."

"You're so nosy sometimes, Videl-chan," Erasa accused as a warm, smooth body brushed past Gohan's back. The demi-Saiyan shivered as the heat disappeared, taking the soft flesh with it.

A few insignificant seconds later, Videl appeared to Gohan's right, having just emerged from behind his chair. She was making her way to her seat on Erasa's opposite side, paying no attention at all to the boy she'd just frightened out of his wits. "You're one to talk, Erasa-chan. You're practically a one-woman gossip rag."

"Yeah, but I don't scare people half to death!" the short-haired girl countered, obviously forgetting about her initial contact with Gohan that morning.

"But you _do_ look through their trash."

"I did that only _once _and you know it!"

"Yeah, duh. It was me who showed up when the homeowners called the cops."

"I still can't believe they made such a big deal out of that...the can was_ totally_ out on the curb already! Besides," Erasa paused, haughtily crossing her arms over her diminutive bosom. "I was right. The wife _wasn't_ a natural redhead! I can always tell."

"Oh, bravo..."

While the two girls bickered playfully with one another, Gohan raised the nearly forgotten scrap of paper with his assigned costume on it to his face so that he could read it. It said:

_Saiyaman_

Wow, fate sure had a sick sense of irony.

—

Still somewhat incapable of fathoming the strange mixture of good luck and bad that had contributed to his strange predicament, Gohan slowly donned the store-bought rendition of his own crime fighting uniform. On the bright side, his mother had been surprisingly enthused about his desire to go party with his "little friends" and get out of the house for an evening. On the darker, more sinister one, he was sure to be under suspicion all night because of the costume he had unluckily drawn out of Erasa's little green handbag. He figured that most of his classmates didn't give him enough credit to be the real Saiyaman, but at least one of them was already suspicious of him, and openly so. If he made it through this night without Videl (who routinely saw his caped alter ego up close during their collaborative efforts at justice) recognizing him for who he really was, it would be a miracle.

After pulling on his second glove, Gohan was officially transformed into Saiyaman! Well...sort of, anyway. The costume he'd bought at the mall was a weak copy of the real thing, to say the least. Most of the parts were present and accounted for, but little things like the color of his tunic and the thin texture of the cloth were off. Plus, the helmet he'd been forced to purchase separate from the rest was of a flimsy make and would, undoubtedly, not make it through the night. He certainly couldn't say that the entire ensemble had been worth the small fortune he'd paid for it.

Still, it was better than showing up in the genuine article, which might cause people to speculate more than they were already sure to. Videl, in particular, would call the quality into question and proceed to make his life more miserable than usual for the duration of the foreseeable future. The way Gohan figured it, he'd probably be lucky if he didn't spark some recognition in his classmates by wearing the ugly thing he already had on.

Thus, Gohan had quickly rejected the "real deal" option and decided to play it safe. He looked stupid, sure, but it wasn't like the costume designers could possibly recreate Saiyaman's coolness factor exactly. He was sure they had done their best.

Of course, despite the hilariously inept attempt they had made at recreating Saiyaman for the public at large, it proved to be one of the hottest costumes of the year, trailing only slightly behind Mr. Satan, Videl and (disturbingly) Scooby Doo in popularity. According to the saleslady who had helped him during his shopping trip, they were selling so fast that the once-a-week shipments simply weren't enough to meet the growing demand for the caped crusader ensemble, which made Gohan positively glow with pride. He only wished that his growing fandom were getting a better quality product...

Oh, well.

"'Nii-san! Mommy says we're ready to go!" a little voice called from the vicinity of the doorway.

Turning toward it, Gohan beamed in pride at his little brother who was an exact copy of the real Saiyaman in miniature. Since there was no fear of Goten being mistaken for the secretive masked fighter, Bulma had agreed to make him his own Saiya-costume for Halloween, complete with transforming watch.

"You look great, squirt!" the elder Son boy complimented as the younger struck a pose.

"Do I look as cool as you, 'Nii-san?" Goten asked, wobbling on his tiptoes as he fought to keep his precarious balance.

Gohan's grin broadened as he replied, "Way cooler than me. I'll have to watch it or you'll be more stylish than me soon."

"No way!" Goten disagreed, finally falling out of his stance. He managed to stop himself from descending completely to the floor by holding out his arms, but only barely. "No one's cooler than you!"

Gohan had to laugh a little at that. Sometimes little brothers were great. "You said Mom's about ready to go?"

"Yeah," the youngest demi-Saiyan answered, nodding fervently. "She says you'd better hurry up, too, 'cuz your party's starting in ten minutes."

Looking to his wrist in panic, Gohan belatedly realized that the watch he was wearing was the one that came with his costume and, thus, didn't work. Once that exercise proved futile, the teenaged superhero looked to his desk instead where the glowing red numbers on his digital clock were clearly visible from across the room.

"Darn it!" he cursed. It was 6:50 already and he was due at Erasa's house at seven! It would take him at least twenty minutes to get there, at least, which meant that he was going to have to fly at top speed all the way.

"Have fun tonight, squirt!" Gohan said over his shoulder as he dashed through the doorway, his flimsy orange (not red, but _orange_) cape fluttering behind him as he ran. "And don't eat any of your candy until Mom or Bulma-san checks it out!"

"Okay, 'Nii-san! Have fun!" Goten shouted after him, already out of sight around the bend of the stairs.

'_Great! Late again!_'

—

Gohan landed a safe distance away from the house to avoid being seen by any of his peers or Erasa's neighbors, but considering how he was already a full five minutes (at least; it was hard to tell, exactly, without his watch) late and still had a long walk ahead of him this didn't make him feel any better. Thus, he made the quick decision to risk a few weird looks and began dashing in the direction of the party at top speed.

Aside from a few tousle-haired trick-or-treaters who seemed to blame his supersonic passing on the wind, he made it to Erasa's front yard without incident. He was panting and sweaty, but he was there and he wasn't _too_ late, which he figured could be forgiven.

The house was surprisingly quiet as he strolled up to the front door, causing him to worry that he'd perhaps shown up at the wrong house. He double-checked the address in his memory and couldn't find any fault with either the street name or the house number, so he figured the location must be correct. Of course, the silent house and lack of teenage presence kept the doubt nibbling away at the back of his mind...

Deciding to take the risk of being mistaken, he raised his gloved hand to knock on the bright blue door.

Almost immediately after drawing his fist back, he could hear movement inside. "No way! Is someone here already?" someone clearly asked, their voice only muffled slightly by the barrier between them.

"Could be the pizza guy."

"Oh, yeah. Could you get it? My wallet's in the purse by the door."

After a long pause in which rustling and the drawing back of a chain lock could be heard, the door swerved inward to reveal –

Videl. Wearing her usual street clothes. He hadn't shown up on the wrong day, had he?

"How much do we owe...oh, it's you," the pigtailed champion of justice said, lowering the pink Hello Kitty wallet that she was clutching in her fist to her side. "What are you doing here so early?"

"Uh...," Gohan began, reaching back to rub his neck. This was awkward. "Didn't...wasn't the party supposed to start at seven?"

"Yeah," Videl replied, raising her empty hand to check her watch. Having ascertained the correct time, she returned her attention to Gohan and continued, "It's not even 7:15 yet, Gohan-kun. Most people show up at least a half hour past the official start time."

Beneath the crappy plastic helmet that was obscuring the majority of his face, Gohan could feel his cheeks alight in a blush. "O-Oh...s-sorry."

"Who's out there, Videl-chan? It sounds like Gohan-kun," Erasa called, appearing behind Videl in the background.

Inclining her head to speak over her shoulder, Videl said, "Yeah, it's him. He thought we were all supposed to be here at seven."

Erasa's voice grew louder as she approached, stationing herself right next to her dark-haired friend in the doorway. She was giggling at him again. "Hasn't he ever heard of being fashionably late?"

A wry grin spread across Videl's face as she replied, "Apparently not."

The vivid reminder of humiliation on Gohan's face intensified, making him positive that all of the skin from the top of his head down had to be flaming red. He wanted to think of Videl as a nice girl, he really did, but she sure had an irritating way of making him feel like a complete dweeb.

"Well, whatever," Erasa said, moving out of the way to invite him inside. "Maybe he can help us set up, or something. There's still lots of heavy stuff that needs to be put out. Come on in, Gohan-kun."

"I told you I could do all that," Videl reminded her, stepping back into the house herself and wandering away, presumably to resume the task Gohan had interrupted.

"Yeah, yeah," Erasa replied, rolling her eyes skyward for a few exasperated seconds. Leaning towards Gohan as he was crossing the threshold of the suburban home, she whispered, "She really hates letting boys help her with stuff. I say the more muscle, the better."

Gohan didn't quite know what to say to that, so he laughed awkwardly in response.

"Anyway," the blonde continued, resuming her normal volume level once more. "If you could move those tables in the kitchen to that far wall over there, that'd be _great_."

—

Naturally, all the heavy lifting jobs that Erasa assigned him were easily conquered with his superhuman strength and were, thus, completed quickly. The tables were moved, the chairs set up and the stereo system rewired for maximum amplification (another thing Gohan was able to do in a jiffy), meaning that the house was set up for a par-tay.

"Wow, you guys do great work!" Erasa complimented as Gohan moved a tall (and extremely full) bookcase into the dining room and out of everybody's way. Videl was helping, too, but mostly just for appearance's sake; Gohan couldn't have her thinking he was stronger than he seemed, after all.

Videl was giving the relocated bookcase a strange glare as she said, "Yeah...piece of cake."

"Is there anything else you need help with, Erasa-san?" Gohan asked, turning to his blonde hostess for further instruction. His eager-to-help expression was fully visible to her now that he'd removed his sorry excuse for headgear and deposited it out of sight, out of mind in the laundry room.

"Hmm...," she said, looking around the room. "I can't think of anything."

"What about the banner?" Videl reminded her, finally tearing her suspicious gaze away from the shelving apparatus.

"Oh, right!" Erasa exclaimed, bringing one of her fists down into her open palm. "I almost forgot! It's over there in the corner, could you guys put it up while I go change into my costume?"

"Sure, Erasa-san. You can go change, too, if you want, Videl-san," Gohan offered, forcing a weak smile at her. He didn't dislike his pigtailed classmate, really, but the thought of being alone with her scared the dickens out of him.

Videl frowned in response. "Actually, I think I should help you. We've got to tie it up between one corner of the kitchen doorway and the other, which isn't exactly a one person job. Unless, of course, you can fly," she amended, sneering a little in his direction. "Can _you _fly, Gohan-kun?"

Holding back the rosy blush that was creeping across the apples of his cheeks again, Gohan replied, a little too quickly, "N-No, of course not, Videl-san. That's silly!"

"Then you'll need my help, won't you?"

"I-I guess..."

"Great!" Erasa said, clapping her hands together. She seemed cheerfully unaware of the tension brewing in the room around her. "I'll go get dressed, then, and Videl-chan can come up when she's done helping Gohan-kun with the sign. Sound good?"

After the quick assent of all parties present, Erasa bounded for the staircase and jogged up it. In only a few seconds, she was gone, presumably to her room where her assigned costume lay in wait for her.

"Alright, let's do this," Videl commanded, wandering over to the corner of the room where the rolled up banner was apparently kept. After retrieving it from underneath one of the tables, she returned to Gohan's side and instructed, "You take this end and hold it steady while I unroll it."

"Okay."

The pumpkin orange paper stretched out between them for about a yard and a half, making it almost as long as Videl was tall. Gohan decided not to mention this, but smiled at the comparison all the same; her huge personality in such a tiny frame was downright cute at times.

As that thought skittered across his brain, the blush returned to his face full force. What a thing to be thinking about the girl who practically bullied him!

"What's with you?"

Slightly startled, Gohan raised his eyes to look at Videl, who was staring back with an eyebrow raised. "Huh?"

"You're all red. What's wrong?" she elaborated.

"Oh, uh...," Gohan worked his genius brain hard for an excuse for the unmanly flush, but drew a temporary blank. "I'm just a little warm, that's all. Isn't it hot in here? I think it's hot."

Videl's other brow raised before saying, "Are you sure you're okay? You look a little sick."

For the first time ever (well, the first time he'd ever noticed, anyway), Gohan could tell that Videl was concerned about him. She didn't seem like she was about to fly into a hysterical panic about his health like his mother always did, but her expression belied a certain amount of...caring all the same.

Unable to look her directly in the eyes (her soft, periwinkle eyes) any longer, Gohan averted his gaze to the banner that they were holding between them. "Yeah. Say, isn't this acronym a little...off?"

"Yeah," Videl replied, thankfully willing to change the subject. "I tried to tell her that 'All Hallows Eve Hookup Hooplah' would spell 'A-H-E-H-H,' but she says people won't notice."

"Well, it does make more sense as 'AHHH,' I suppose," Gohan agreed, scanning the sign with a critical eye. "Since it's a Halloween party, and all."

"Yeah."

There was a long pause in conversation as the two teens collaborated on hanging the banner across the top of the arch that connected the kitchen and family room, neither of them needing to say any more than "a little to the left" or "raise it up an inch higher" every so often. It wasn't a terribly awkward silence, though, which rather surprised Gohan. Sure, there was a moment when Videl lifted herself up on a chair for leverage (the exceptionally tall demi-Saiyan was able to do without) that reminded him of the fleeting thought of her cuteness, but they were otherwise perfectly companionable. It seemed that, once they got used to each other's presence, all of their secret conflicts just went away.

"Done," Videl declared once her side was securely taped to the wall. She tilted back on the seat of the chair upon which she was perched to get a good look at their handiwork.

Gohan joined her in the survey of their completed task, taking a few steps backwards to get a better view.

_**AHHH!**_

**All Hallows Eve Hookup Hooplah**

Yeah, it looked good. The acronym debate aside, it was a nifty little sign that was sure to get everyone's attention as they came in. And, Gohan had to agree, it was doubtful that anyone would even notice the missing letter; from his experience in class at Orange Star High, most of his classmates overlooked a lot of the finer details. Videl and a few of his other classroom fellows could note the difference between a comma and a semi-colon, but it was obvious that most of them could not. Thus, Erasa was probably fine in her choice of lettering.

"So where did Erasa-san get the idea for this party?" Gohan asked as they gazed at the drippy black lettering.

In the corner of his eye, he saw Videl turn her head to look at him before she answered, "She's been hoping to meet her 'Prince Charming' ever since she was in elementary school. She figures that a party like this will help, somehow."

"How so?"

"Got me," the pigtailed girl said, sighing. "She's probably just hoping for some kind of romantic moment, or whatever. One of those love-at-first-sight things."

"Oh..."

"Alright, I'm gonna go upstairs and – _woah_!"

Stepping forward before it was even possible to blink, Gohan placed a hand on the Videl's lower back as she began to tumble backwards off the chair. With his other, he stabilized her upper torso by cupping it around the curve in her ribs. Her entire weight – what little of it there was – was being supported entirely by Gohan, who held her aloft and out of harm's way.

"Are you okay?" he asked, leaning over a little so that he could catch a glimpse of her face.

As he did so, Videl turned her head away. "F-Fine. Could you put me down?"

"Oh, uh...sure," he complied before realizing that her request was easier asked than fulfilled. She was leaning back against him, suspended only a few inches away from his chest, and at such an awkward angle that he couldn't possibly just let her go. "Uh..."

"Just put me down!" Videl commanded, squirming against his hands.

Reaffirming his grip on her so that she didn't accidentally throw herself to the floor, Gohan stammered, "I-I can't!"

"If you don't put me down right now, I'll – "

"Okay!" the panicked demi-Saiyan cried, doing the first thing he could think of to return Videl safely to the balance of her own feet. He picked her up.

Removing his hand from her lower back, Gohan used it and his arm to sweep Videl's legs out from under her at the knees. With a small scream, she fell completely into his arms like a bride. As she felt herself descending once again, she threw her arms out to twine around Gohan's neck and clung tight (well, Gohan assumed, probably as tightly as she could, being human and all).

"What the hell are you doing?" she demanded, turning her face to his so that she could glare directly into his eyes.

To Gohan's utter surprise (and secret pleasure), her cheeks were flushed a warm pink. Realizing that even this tough, tomboyish girl had a shy side caused Gohan to fall dumb for a moment, so when he finally replied it was after a long delay. "Uh...helping you down?"

"I don't need your help, you – "

"Hey!" someone called from upstairs. Both teens on the lower floor looked up simultaneously to find Erasa standing above them, leaning over the staircase railing in half of her costume. Whatever it was required blue, and a lot of it; blue headband, blue eyeshadow, blue top. The works. "People will start arriving any minute and you have...n't...what are you guys _doing_ down there?"

Unable to resist, Gohan chanced a peek at Videl out of the corner of his eye. Her face was deepening in color, which caused a giddy jolt somewhere deep in the pit of his stomach.

"Nothing," Videl answered for the both of them, squirming in his arms until she got her legs free of his grasp. She dropped them down, still clinging onto his neck for balance, until she was close enough to the floor to drop down the rest of the way. "I'm coming!"

With no parting words at all to Gohan, she dashed up the staircase, skipping two or more steps at a time as she made her ascent. She met Erasa on the first landing and dragged her away down the hall, clearly in a rush over something.

As soon as they disappeared around the corner, the doorbell rang. Sighing, Gohan went to answer it.

— — —

**Author's Notes: **Just thought I'd mention first that the passage I included at the beginning of this story is an excerpt from _The Legend of Sleepy Hollow_, by Washington Irving. It's a classic novella here in the States that has been told to kids for generations at Halloween, so I figured it would be fitting as something Gohan might be reading for class. Besides that, doesn't Gohan himself kinda remind you of Ichabod Crane (the protagonist) in that awkward, nerdy way? He's even got women issues XD

Anyway...On to part two!

_**. ( . Ms Videl Son . ) .**_

– _Who's your daddy? GohanVidel_


	2. Half

**Title:** The Better Half**  
Disclaimer:** Muahahahaha...you're gettin' NOTHING out of me.**  
Rating:** PG-13 ( T ) – 'cuz of all the teenagers in it, duh. That and a touch of cursing and energetic kissing here or there.**  
Spoilers: **Well, you could spoil your appetite if you eat too much candy, but I think the story's safe.

**Summary:** TwoShot. "So you're Saiyaman, huh?" GhVi, Pre-Blackmail.

Happy Halloween, everybody!** n.n**

(PS: This is for SweetestIrony. Theme – Cosplay.)

--- --- ---

**Half**

About an hour after the falling fiasco, the party was fully in progress. People were swarming everywhere inside the house; the living room, the dining room, the kitchen. A few people even tried to wander upstairs, but every time they did either Erasa or Videl (from somewhere out of sight down the hall) would scold them into going back down.

Erasa's scheme about pairing people up seemed to be working out just fine so far, too. Teenagers all around him were standing in pairs of two – one male and one female to each set – and giggling over their matching costumes. Those who didn't have a partner yet were eagerly watching the front door, waiting for their partner for the evening to arrive.

Though each of the ensembles chosen by the pair of hostesses hidden away upstairs was interesting in its own right, some of them were more clever than others. The peanut butter and jelly set was pretty nifty, for instance, as were the priest and nun pair (though he wasn't sure how dressing up as celibate religious figures was supposed to spark romantic feelings). There was also a bunny and carrot, cat and mouse, the king and queen of hearts, doctor and nurse, nickel and dime, plug and socket...there were too many to name, really.

Some of the costumes were of famous couples, too. Romeo and Juliet were there, as were Cathy and Heathcliff, Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, Adam and Eve and Antony and Cleopatra. Additionally, other characters such as George and Judy Jetson were in attendance, as were Fred and Wilma Flinstone. William Turner and Elizabeth Swan, Jack Skellington and Sally, Fred and Velma, King Kong and Ann Darrow, Batman and Catwoman...and so on and so forth. Just about any famous or popular couple you could think of was there, swarming about the refreshment table or checking out their music choices over by the stereo.

Of course, looking at other people's costumes made him wonder what his was supposed to be paired up with. Saiyaman didn't have a sidekick or love interest, as far as he knew, so who could Erasa have possibly paired him up with? There was really no telling...

Just as Gohan was about to chance potential embarrassment for a piece of cake (or twelve), movement from upstairs caught his attention. Lifting his head to get a better view, he saw Erasa and Videl emerge from the hallway, fully dressed in their assigned costumes.

His eyes skimmed right over his blonde classmate to fixate on his darker-haired one, who was slowly descending the staircase in low heels ("Heel to toe, heel to toe," Erasa reminded her as they walked).

As Gohan's eyes swept up the sloping curves of her body, the rest of her costume came into focus. It consisted of three parts: a skin-tight red skirt, a matching baggy, sleeveless shirt that was cinched at the top with a turtleneck and a short black cape. Her other accessories completed the full ensemble, making it fairly obvious what she was supposed to be; the pronged staff she carried and the pointy-tipped belt meant to look like a tail were the most obvious clues. The pointed buns she had formed on either side of her head were more subtle, but he supposed they must be horns.

"You're the devil," Gohan correctly observed as she finally made it down to the last stair.

"Yeah," Videl affirmed, her crimson-painted lips spreading into a small smile. She seemed almost shy about it, though it was difficult to say whether she was blushing or not beneath her makeup. "Erasa-chan went a little overboard, though, I think."

"Stop complaining," Erasa scolded, reminding Gohan of her presence. "You look _great_."

"I look stupid," Videl countered, turning her head to frown directly at her friend.

Before Erasa could pose another argument, Gohan interjected, "I think you look nice."

"Oh...thanks."

Eager to change the subject before he started blushing again, Gohan turned to Erasa and guessed, "And you're a...princess?"

The blonde giggled behind a gloved hand before responding, "Close. I'm Cinderella, silly!" To illustrate her point, she lifted her full blue skirt a few inches off the ground and stuck her left foot out. It was adorned by a clear plastic shoe with a tiny silver ribbon on the top.

"Oh...right," Gohan said. He'd never watched many Disney movies growing up, but he recalled the basics of the original fairy tale of Cinderella. Some of them were more gruesome than others, but they often involved some special form of footwear (sometimes fur, sometimes glass).

Lowering her skirt back to the floor, Erasa asked, "Say, you haven't seen my Prince Charming anywhere, have you?"

"I don't think so," Gohan replied, making a quick scan of the room just in case he'd missed him. Nope, no princely-looking characters present. "Sorry."

"Well, if you spot him, let me know."

"Sure."

Throughout his brief conversation with Erasa, Gohan found his gaze continuously flickering to Videl. He just couldn't reconcile with all of the things he had been noticing about her in the past couple of hours; first, she was cute. Then, she was a helpless damsel. Now, she was...feminine. It was like he'd never noticed before that she was a girl, even though it seemed so obvious at the present.

Well, he'd always known she was a girl (how blind did you have to be to overlook that?), but she'd just never seemed like a real girl. Not a girl like his mom or Bulma or Erasa, but a different sort altogether.

That said, he felt it would be pretty strange to see Videl dressed up in such a way on a consistent basis. It was kind of nice for a change, but she just seemed so...different this way. In some respects, the change was positive; she sure looked pretty, for instance, even if her makeup was plastered on a little thick. In others, the outfit was just _so not _Videl that it almost disturbed him. Besides, if the strained look on her features was any indication, she was highly uncomfortable in it and that took away from the entire illusion of beauty. In Gohan's opinion, this costume was nothing in comparison to how she looked in her normal, every day clothes when she was simply herself.

"What?" Videl asked, leveling a suspicious glare at him as she simultaneously tugged at the hem of her skirt. "Is there something on my face, or what?"

Looking away immediately, Gohan stammered, "N-No, you just look so...different. I can't get used to it, is all."

"Good," said Videl as Erasa smacked her hands away from her outfit. "Because you'll probably never see me like this again. Enjoy it while you can."

"She's no fun, is she, Gohan-kun?" Erasa complained, turning to Gohan for support.

Unfortunately, Gohan couldn't offer any. The level of discomfort that Videl seemed to be experiencing completely belied the effect that he was sure Erasa had been hoping for, making it a fairly useless exercise in the end. "I think she looks good in what she usually wears."

"Not you, too!" exclaimed Erasa, throwing her hands dramatically up in the air with an angry huff.

Videl, seeming to get a touch of her own spark back, turned her head to grin at her best friend and personal fashionista. "_See_?"

"Oh, you're impossible!"

As Erasa stalked away, presumably to pour herself some punch while she steamed, Videl returned her attention to Gohan. She even bestowed him with a smile (it was somewhat reminiscent of her smirk, but a smile it was). "At least _someone_'s on my side," she confided with a small chuckle.

Gohan spread a grin across his face and, praying to any gods listening that he wasn't about to make a fool of himself, broached a new topic of conversation; "So, you drew the devil, huh? Does that mean you'll be paired with – "

"_Omigod_!" someone squealed from behind him, stopping Gohan mid-sentence. He turned to locate the cause of the high-pitched disturbance and found the redheaded girl from his English class standing behind him. "I've got Gohan-kun!"

"Huh?" was all Gohan could say in reply as the girl latched onto his right arm. He was totally confused by this new turn of events and was sure that it showed on his face.

"You're my partner, silly!" the redhead proclaimed, reaching up on her tiptoes to flutter her eyelashes right in his face.

Highly uncomfortable with the abrupt invasion of his personal space, Gohan leaned away from her, particularly wary of the puckered lips that were looming just a little too close to his cheek. "I am?"

"Um, duh. You're Saiyaman and I'm Videl," she pointed out, releasing his arm just long enough to step back and give him a good view of her costume. She did, in fact, look as if she'd raided Videl's closet before coming to the party, dressed as she was in a baggy white T-shirt, black spandex shorts and a pair of practical boots. "I was totally _ew_ about this costume when I picked it, but now that I know you're my partner, it's all good! I've always thought you were, like, _really_ cute." To emphasize her statement, she latched onto his arm again, pressing her plush bosom against his elbow.

"Ex-_cuse_ me," Videl interjected, stepping completely away from the staircase to confront the girl. "We were talking, d'you mind?"

"Eee!" the girl cried, positioning herself behind Gohan so that he was between the two bickering females. Peeking out around his bicep, she demanded, "What's, like, _with _you? Gohan-kun is _my_ partner, get your own!"

Visibly bristling as a blush swept across her face, Videl demanded, "Why the hell are you dressed up like me anyway, Angela? I figured you'd hemorrhage without a skirt and heels."

"Duh," the redhead replied, sticking her tongue out at Videl from her safehaven behind Gohan. "I drew it out of the bag."

Videl was turning redder and redder every passing second, but Gohan highly doubted it had anything to do with embarrassment any longer. "_Erasa_," she grumbled to herself, a growl bubbling up from her throat.

"C'mon, Gohan-kun," Angela pleaded, tugging on her assigned date's arm. "Let's, like, go dance, or something, and leave miss cranky pants here to scare the trick-or-treaters."

"Why, you – "

"Wow, you look _hot_ tonight, Videl," a new voice interrupted as a bulky arm descended upon the fuming teen's shoulders.

"Watch out, Sharpener-kun," Angela warned the newcomer. "She probably _bites_, or something."

Winking at all present, the blond jock – who was dressed up like an angel to compliment Videl's devil costume – responded, "Ooh, I could get into that." As he said so, the gold-foil halo that was suspended above his cranium by a metal hanger wire slipped to the side and dangled there askew, tangled in his flaxen locks.

Swatting his hand off of her shoulder, Videl spat, "I'd rather get you into a coffin."

The unwanted appendage was removed from her person for only a few seconds before it was back, this time looped around her waist. "Only if there's enough room for you."

"Go drown in the bobbing for apples tub, why don't you?"

"Can't, Adam's trying to fetch one for Eve right now. Want to go find some privacy?"

"Not if you were the last angel in my personal Hell, Sharpener."

"Come _on_," Angela insisted again, pulling harder on the arm she still clutched within her grasp. "I want to dance, let's go!"

Gohan was tempted to resist, but couldn't think of a good excuse to stay in Videl's company now that she had her date. Thus, he allowed himself to be led away from her, looking over his shoulder more than once as he was dragged toward the makeshift dance floor in the middle of the livingroom.

"Ooh! I love this song!" Angela exclaimed, beginning to bob up and down to the beat of the music echoing against the walls.

Gohan felt a large bead of sweat drip down the side of his face as she started mouthing the lyrics enthusiastically. "Great...that's nice."

"Uh-oh," his assigned date said, stopping suddenly to point at something out on the dance floor. It was Erasa and she was being propositioned by her "Prince Charming" right in the middle of the action. She looked none too happy about it, either. "Looks like Paper-kun is Erasa-chan's other half tonight," Angela quipped, giggling behind her hand.

Sure enough, the orange-haired boy with glasses that sat below them in science class was standing next to Erasa, turning on the charm. He was decked out in an incredibly detailed Prince Charming outfit that almost rivaled his date's dress, complete with a shiny, jewel-encrusted crown on top of his head.

Erasa looked disgusted with her "other half," however, and kept her nose turned up at him. '_Gosh, that's a shame_,' Gohan thought to himself absently. '_Paper-san is such a nice guy._'

"Eww...poor Erasa-chan!" Angela sympathized, pulling Gohan forward again. "She ended up with the biggest dork in class! How gross!"

"What's wrong with Paper-san?" Gohan had to ask, confused at the logic his date seemed to be utilizing.

She turned her bushy head slightly to give him an absurdly disgusted look. "Are you _serious_? He's a total nerd! If I'd ended up with him I'd, like, _kill_ myself!"

Gohan frowned a little at the dramatic statement, but didn't respond. Who was he to try and understand why that made such a decent guy undesirable to the opposite sex? He sure had no idea what girls thought about stuff like that.

As they made it to the very edge of the space where his fellow classmates were cutting a rug (literally, in some cases; boy, would Erasa's mother be mad when the family returned home the following Monday), he took another peek behind him and caught sight of something that deeply gratified him. Sharpener had, apparently, been brave enough to put his arm around Videl's shoulder again and lean in for a kiss, but she'd thwarted him by grabbing hold of his wrist and using his own body weight to flip him. As he laid there on the ground in the foyer, Videl stepped over him and disappeared into the next room.

For some reason, Gohan couldn't help but grin at the spectacle. '_Ha_,' he thought.

—

"Gohan-kun! Where'd you go? _Gohan-kun_!"

Not tempted even in the slightest to answer Angela's call, Gohan ducked down behind the isle in the middle of the kitchen to avoid being spotted by his redheaded huntress. He could see her shadow moving along the white plaster wall in the corridor, inching ever closer to his pathetic hiding spot...

As she stopped momentarily to ask someone she passed, "Hey, have you seen Gohan-kun anywhere? He said he was going to the bathroom real quick and never came back," the demi-Saiyan prodigy decided to make a break for the pantry off to his left.

One...

...two...

...THREE!

Without quite using superhuman speed, he dashed across the linoleum floor to his new safety zone. He skidded a little as he attempted to stop, just barely preventing himself from running into the wall. Grabbing hold of the doorknob just as Angela could be heard saying, "Okay...thanks anyway," he whipped it open and dove into the darkened space within.

Closing off the world outside was a relief to Gohan who leaned against the back of the slatted door and heaved a heavy sigh. What was with girls, anyway? They were all so..._clingy_. And loud. And their perfume...yuck! It gave him a headache just to remember the scent Angela had apparently bathed herself in that day.

"Hey!"

Jumping to attention at the sound of the hissing whisper, Gohan fell into a reflexive fighting stance. It was a stupid thing to do, he decided seconds later, considering none of his peers could possibly pose a physical threat to him, but years of training with his green mentor had taught him it was better to be safe than dead.

His hidden adversary, whoever it was, continued, "Get out of here! This is my hiding space!"

Slowly lowering his fists as recognition dawned, Gohan uttered a whispered querie, "Videl-san?"

"Gohan-kun?" the person replied, emerging from the dark corner in the back of the pantry into the dim light that was filtering through the gaps in the door. Sure enough, it was Videl, sans her cape and pitchfork. "What are you doing in here? I thought you were off showing her your stupid dance moves."

Glad that the shadows were probably hiding the embarrassed pink tint in his cheeks, Gohan reached his hand around to rub the back of his neck sheepishly. "Oh...uh...yeah, I was, but we kinda got...separated."

"You escaped, you mean?"

"...yeah," he had to admit, dropping his hand down to his side. "So, where's Sharpener-san?"

Videl shivered a little before answering, "When he came to on the welcome mat, he started looking for me. I've already had as much of him as I can stand for the night, so I ran off to find a hiding spot. I've been in here for a half hour already, waiting for him to give up and go hit on someone else."

"Yikes...,"

"Oh, Sharpener-kun! Have you seen Gohan-kun, by any chance?" Angela – who had, apparently, not left the kitchen yet – asked.

Sharpener's voice responded, "Braniac? Nope. D'you know where Videl is?"

"Probably eating somebody's kitten, or something."

"She can eat a whole bagful of them for all the hell I care. Anybody as hot as her can do anything they want."

Stepping closer to the door to peer through the open slats, Videl cursed violently when what she saw apparently displeased her. "It's them!" she announced, flicking her periwinkle-hued eyes at Gohan for a second. Once her address was finished, however, she returned them to the surveillance of the goings-on of the world outside of their little cubby hole.

Such close proximity to Videl was making him uncomfortable in a way that was quite different from the uneasiness he'd experienced with Angela invading his personal space. Instead of a sickening queasy feeling, it felt as if all of his nerve endings were suddenly super sensitive to the touch.

"V-Videl-san," he tried to plead, pressing himself as far into his corner as he possibly could. Despite being very lean, however, his body was still large by the average person's standards, which meant that there was very little room left for him to maneuver in.

"Shh!" Videl scolded, apparently unaffected by the situation like he was. "They'll hear you!"

Biting his lip to keep from moaning as she shifted herself closer to him, Gohan squirmed against the shelving unit behind him. He was snipped at again for making too much noise, but it was hard to help it considering that anytime her ribs expanded or contracted with her breathing, her torso brushed against his stomach. This simple motion was causing the tingly sensation to pool in the southern regions of his body and making him want to writhe and squirm even more. Strangely, the greatest reaction wasn't in his stomach, but in –

"Hey, maybe they're in the pantry. Nerd-boy was ogling the food table earlier like it was some chick with her tits hangin' out."

"Or maybe _your_ date is in there. She sure doesn't look like she lays off the carbs any."

"Whatever, let's check."

"Shit!" Videl complained with a hiss, grabbing hold of the doorknob as it began to rattle and quiver.

Unsure of what else to do, Gohan braced himself against the wooden portal in support of Videl's barrier.

"It opens outward!" Videl reminded him, staring in horror at the small crack of light forming between the frame and the door. Yanking hard, she pulled it shut with a loud bang. "_Shit_!"

"Somebody's totally in there!"

"No shit, sherlock."

"Get it open, get it open!"

"I'm trying! Whoever's in there is fucking strong, okay?"

Videl seemed to be having a hard time getting a good grip on the knob as it kept slipping in and out of her sweaty grasp. On the other side of the door, Sharpener was yanking erratically on it, making it even more difficult for her to hold on.

"D'you want me to try?"

"What can _you_ do, red?"

"I don't see you getting it open!"

"Shut up and let me work, okay?"

Suddenly, the door gave an almighty jerk and the knob fell completely out of Videl's grasp, sending her stumbling backwards into Gohan's quickly extended arms. The two on the outside hadn't gained entry yet, but now there was nothing to bar them from it.

Videl's eyes widened with utter panic as the knob successfully twisted and the door began to slowly fall open. Against the florescent lighting of the kitchen, two silhouettes stood blocking them in.

Gohan was tempted to pick Videl bodily off the floor and make a run for it, but she, apparently, had another plan in mind. While the two shadowy teens squinted into the darkness from the doorway, the crime fighting devil in his arms reached up and took hold of him. With a surprising amount of force from such a tiny frame, she dragged Gohan's head down to hers and mashed their lips together in a bruising frenzy.

"_EWW_!" Angela complained with a squeal as the scene inside the pantry was properly revealed to the world outside.

Sharpener's sentiments were much the same; "Ugh...there are bedrooms upstairs, guys."

Gohan only registered their disgust and the slamming of the pantry door in the back of his mind, however, as the feeling of Videl's mouth on his grew softer and more flexible against his own. He responded in kind, opening up to allow the tongue lapping at his lips inside.

Nearly forgetting his own strength, Gohan lifted Videl off her feet and stepped across the small space to lean her back against the shelving. Her legs found their way around his waist and she locked her ankles, keeping her aloft even without his help.

Finally pulling away from him after a long and intense liplock, Videl gasped for air. Her chest heaved against his as she fought to catch her breath, eyes glazed and watery as she stared at him. "Gohan...," she said, her voice deep and husky.

"Videl," Gohan replied, leaning in to take the initiative this time.

—

Half an hour later, the pair stumbled back out into the livingroom, Gohan feeling positive that he looked as dazed as he felt. He'd almost lost his virginity in someone's kitchen pantry, he'd come to realize, and the memories of the event were sure to take awhile to fade. The demi-Saiyan teen was fairly certain that he wouldn't sleep all night (heck, if he managed to fall unconscious even once all weekend, it would be a miracle).

"What's with him?" Erasa – who was off in the corner of the room seated side-saddle across her Prince Charming's lap – asked, addressing Videl but looking straight past her at Gohan.

Tucking her now freed hair behind her ear, the blushing Videl replied, "He's...uh...yeah."

"What?" queried the blonde, looking at both of her friends in a funny, disbelieving way. Paper's lipstick-peppered face leaned around her to catch a glimpse of what was going on.

"Ask Angela and Sharpener. I'm going home."

— — —

**Author's Note: **Fun fact, I got the idea from this story from a Captain Morgan commercial XD Y'know, the one where the guys all go get costumes to match up with the hot girls at a party? Yeah...inspiration can come from anywhere, kids.

I'll...uh...maybe fix the ending later. It sounds a little weird to me.

Btw, this story took me a good chunk of TWO DAYS to finish, guys, so please drop a review. I think I earned it **n.n**; If not for the quality, then the quantity involved, hehe.

_**. ( . Ms Videl Son . ) .**_

– _Who's your daddy? GohanVidel_


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